<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Because I'm Always the Last to Know by idioticfangirl</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26848207">Because I'm Always the Last to Know</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/idioticfangirl/pseuds/idioticfangirl'>idioticfangirl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fantober 2020 (The Cherry Pie Series) [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Merlin (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Accidental Love Confessions, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Divination, Fluff, Getting Together, Gryffindor Arthur Pendragon, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slytherin Merlin (Merlin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:20:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,352</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26848207</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/idioticfangirl/pseuds/idioticfangirl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There is a reason that paying attention in Divination is important, Merlin learns.  And that reason is, very simply, that if you're not listening you will start reading signs in tea leaves that mean you are in love with Arthur Pendragon.</p><p>And once you start seeing those signs, you can't stop.</p><p>Written for Fantober Day 4 - Love Confessions</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fantober 2020 (The Cherry Pie Series) [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950112</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>248</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Because I'm Always the Last to Know</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Merlin raced up the stairs, the books in his bag thudding painfully into his hip, and apologising to the students that he nearly bowled over.  Late to his first Divination lesson wasn’t a good look, and he knew Gaius well enough to expect detention if he didn’t make it in the next thirty seconds or so.</p><p>Panting, he flung the door open.  Gaius raised an eyebrow but said nothing, which Merlin took as a good sign.  He looked around, hoping to sit next to Gwen, or maybe Gwaine, but his sinking heart realised that there was only one spare seat.  Next to Arthur.</p><p>“Take a seat, Merlin.” Gaius ordered, and Merlin sighed, sliding into the seat and folding his arms.  Arthur rolled his eyes at his antics, but turned back to Gaius, leaving Merlin to glare daggers at his cheek without being disturbed.</p><p>It was, he reflected, unfair.  Why was Arthur allowed to be so good looking, and yet such a pratt?  Who had let that happen?  What god had looked down on him and decided that the man who was his enemy turned friend-of-a-friend turned dubious friend was meant to have hair that fell just in front of his eyes in a way that meant Merlin’s hand itched to brush it away?  To have blue eyes that seemed to pierce Merlin’s soul, and make him a babbling, sarcastic mess?  </p><p>Lost in a reverie, it wasn’t until Arthur was snapping his fingers in front of Merlin’s face that he realised Gaius was done explaining, and Arthur was talking to him.</p><p>“Merlin,” he sighed, already sounding exasperated.  “Were you listening at all?”</p><p>“Yes,” Merlin lied immediately, without even considering telling the truth.  “We’re doing,” he scanned Arthur’s scrawled handwriting, “tea leaf reading.”</p><p>“Very good.” Arthur took a deep gulp of tea, and pushed the empty cup towards Merlin.  “Since you were paying so much attention, you can read mine first.”</p><p>“Fine.” Merlin huffed, squinting.  “I see a bird.” He pushed the cup away, proud of himself and waiting for Arthur to pull some random meaning from the heavy book in front of them.</p><p>“What type of bird?”</p><p>Merlin groaned, raising his eyebrows to the heavens.  “Is that really necessary?” Arthur nodded, the ghost of a smile on his face.  “It’s a dove.”</p><p>“That means I need to have more faith in love.” Arthur announced.</p><p>Merlin blushed, clearing his throat.  “No, wrong bird.  That’s not a dove.  That’s a swan.”</p><p>“News of love and romance.” Arthur hummed thoughtfully.  “Sounds nice, to be honest.  Shall I look at -”</p><p>“I was wrong!” Merlin choked out.  “Not a bird at all.  There’s no way that’s a bird.  I was looking at it upside-down.” He twisted his hand at an uncomfortable angle.  “It’s a horse!”  Let that be about love, he thought savagely.</p><p>“The body, or just the head?”</p><p>“Does that - just the head.”</p><p>“That denotes a lover.” Arthur looked up at Merlin, and if Merlin didn’t know any better he would have thought he looked hurt.  “Are you screwing with me?”</p><p>“What?  No!  Why?”</p><p>“You’re a good wizard, Merlin.  There’s no way you can’t do this, even if you weren’t listening.  So what is this?  Am I predicted to die or something?” He snatched for the cup, and Merlin jerked it back fast, jumbling the leaves until they weren’t in any conceivable pattern.  Arthur clicked his tongue, and cast his eyes down to the table.</p><p>“Sorry,” Merlin felt faintly guilty, though he didn’t know why.  </p><p>“I see a star.” Arthur announced, glancing briefly into Merlin’s cup.  “You’re going to be famous one day.  I’ll see you next week.”  He stood up, stuffing his book into his bag so that it was almost falling out, and left the room, the trapdoor banging after him.  Merlin ignored the way everyone swung to look at him, staring resolutely at the table and wondering what exactly had gone wrong.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t understand,” he complained to Gwaine, as they walked back down the stairs.  “I don’t get it!  What did he want me to do?  I couldn’t see anything!” He waved his hands in the air, almost hitting a first year.  “I tried to make it up and it pissed him off!”</p><p>“Come on, Merlin,” Gwaine clapped him on the shoulder.  “Are you sure you don’t understand?  You’re one of the best there is, and you’re saying you really had no clue what you were doing?”</p><p>“I was just saying what I saw!  Everything was a smudge and I was guessing!”</p><p>“Tea leaf reading is meant to be slightly subconscious,” Lancelot appeared behind him, “so are you sure…”</p><p>“I’m sure!” Merlin huffed, spotting Arthur darting out of a spare room, “See you later.  Arthur!” </p><p>Arthur turned, considered running, and stayed.  “Merlin.”</p><p>“I didn’t do it on purpose.  Divination isn’t my thing.  And I wasn’t listening to Gaius at all.  Honestly all I saw was a puddle of leaves, but I didn’t think that would be in the book.”</p><p>“I didn’t see a star, either.” Arthur hedged a smile, “I just made it up.”</p><p>“No hard feelings?”</p><p>“You are stupid enough to fail Divination.  Try and avoid animals next week, though.”</p><p>“Completely.” Merlin agreed.</p><p> </p><p>If he was smarter, maybe Merlin would have actually read the Divination book.  Then he could have had an idea on the shapes to avoid.  But between quidditch practice, the mountain of homework that each teacher seemed determined to pile on them despite it being the first week of term, and multiple arguments between first year Slytherins and first year Gryffindors, he had no time to waste reading about which outlines would cause Arthur to leave in a huff.  </p><p>Which was why, as he sat opposite Arthur and tried desperately to avoid looking him in the eye, Merlin felt that he was on thin ice.  “I think it’s an anchor,” he guessed, muggle notions of anchors meaning resolve and strength flitting through his mind.</p><p>“That means I’m due some good luck!” Arthur celebrated, and Merlin breathed a huge sigh of relief, already pushing the cup away, when Arthur read on, “Or a stable love life, I guess.”</p><p>“A stable - let me read that.” Merlin grabbed the book out of Arthur’s hands, rubbing a palm over his face.  “Has Gaius made everything...oh, nevermind.  It’s a parasol, Arthur.  It’s a bloody parasol.  That’s what I see.  Look, there’s the stalk and there’s the umbrella part, and that one dot is the sun.  Come on then, what’s a bloody parasol?”</p><p>“It means,” Arthur read slowly, and Merlin’s heart thumped in his ears until he could barely hear Arthur say, “that a new lover is coming my way.”</p><p>Merlin hit his head on the table, and wondered if someone up there really hated him.  “I’m not doing this on purpose.” He muttered in a small voice.</p><p>“I know.” Arthur sounded sad, and it took everything Merlin had not to reach out to take his hand, “I believe you.  And hey, you did avoid animals.”  It was an obvious effort to lift the mood, and one which Merlin appreciated more than he could say.</p><p>“I see a tree in yours.  That means your life is going to improve.”</p><p>“That’s because Divination is almost over,” Merlin grinned, and was rewarded with a smile back, even if it was small and somewhat forced.</p><p>He wanted to say something, wanted desperately to tell Arthur that he did mean it, that this wasn’t a prank, but he couldn’t.  He wasn’t in love with Arthur.  There was no way he was in love with Arthur.</p><p> </p><p>“Am I in love with Arthur?” He blurted to Gwen, sitting on a bench in the courtyard.  “I’m not, am I?  You’d be able to tell.  I’d be able to tell.”</p><p>“Why would you think that?” Gwen shot him an odd look.  “I thought you kind of hated him.”</p><p>“Oh, he’s not that bad, really.” Merlin allowed.  “A bit arrogant, and rude, but wouldn’t you be if you looked like him?  And he’s fairly nice, really, he’s helped me with quidditch practice a lot even though I’m Slytherin and he’s Gryffindor, and he brought me Pepper-Up Potion after I stayed up for days cramming, and he stood up for me when Valiant started yelling about how I was the reason he failed Transfiguration.  And he is kind of pretty, isn’t he?  Or handsome.  Either.  Both?  Anyway, the tea leaves keep saying that Arthur is going to fall in love soon, and I’d just kind of like to know if I’m reading that because I’m in love with him.”</p><p>“Tea leaves?” Gwen grimaced, “I’ve always thought that was...well, kind of rubbish, to be honest.  I could never read anything.”</p><p>“I know, right!  But everything I guess means love!  How, Gwen, does a bloody parasol mean love?  How!”</p><p>“Do you think you’re in love with him?”</p><p>“I don’t think there’s any point in it,” Merlin replied shortly.  “Not only is Arthur one of the most straight men I’ve ever met, he’s also ridiculously out of my league, and might hate me a bit.”</p><p>“He teaches you quidditch, and brings you Pepper-Up Potion, and protects you.”</p><p>“He doesn’t hate me, but he doesn’t -” Merlin broke up, sighing.  “I thought it was just a crush.  I can think my friend is attractive without being outed by tea leaves, right?  I can’t actually be in love with him.  That wouldn’t be fair.”</p><p>“Oh, Merlin.” Gwen wrapped her arm around him, and he leant into it.  “I’m sorry.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Merlin replied, bitterly.  “So am I.”</p><p>“Maybe you could tell him?” She suggested gently, and he shook his head vehemently.</p><p>“Every time he realises that the symbol means romance, he looks so...so sad, like I killed his puppy.  How can I do that to him?”  He shook his head again, and stood up.  “No.  I have to memorise the images so that I use a safe one.  One that doesn’t mean love.  That’s all.”  He knew that Gwen was watching him leave, knew that she looked sad, but couldn’t turn back, knowing that and pausing would send him right back to her, begging her for a way to make it so that Arthur didn’t flinch at the idea of Merlin loving him.</p><p> </p><p>“Third time lucky,” Merlin muttered to himself, sitting down at his usual table.  He was early, unable to deal with the stress of running late on top of everything else, and Arthur wasn’t there yet.  That was good, he told himself as he set out his book for last-minute cramming.  The less time spent staring at Arthur’s golden hair, or bright blue eyes, the better.</p><p>“Early today.” He heard Arthur’s voice, directly next to his ear, and jumped, shivering at the closeness of it.  “Eager for more tea reading?”</p><p>“Eager for it to be done,” he managed to get out across the lump in his throat.  Arthur’s tie was slightly askew, and he wanted to fix it.  Wanted to run his fingers through Arthur’s hair, wanted to - no!  Before the tea leaves, the thoughts had been subtle, ignorable.  They would be again, he was determined to see to that.</p><p>“I’ll go first.”  Get it over and done with, as quickly as possible, just do it, say you see a crab or something, just go.  “I see a -” his breath caught over the word ‘cat’, because that wasn’t what he saw.  He saw a bouquet of flowers, meaning a happy love life.  He turned the cup forty-five degrees, and saw an angel, meaning good news in love-related matters.  He turned it again, and saw a harp, meaning love and harmony.  “A c -” He didn’t want to lie.  Something was compelling him to tell the truth, forcing him to lay his subconscious bare in front of Arthur to do with as he wished.  In one last, desperate twist, he spun the cup upside-down, and stared at it.</p><p>It was a heart, clear as day.</p><p>“I am not,” he didn’t even realise he was standing until he heard the chair squeaking back, didn’t realise he was shouting until everyone turned to look at him, “in love with you, Arthur!”</p><p>He spun on his heel, leaving his bag and his friends and, apparently, his love behind, to run down the stairs.  </p><p>“Merlin!” He heard someone running after him after a brief pause, and knew it could only be Arthur, knew from the voice and the footsteps and the fact that they had run after him, and he wanted to collapse, to stop running and stop fighting and just give in.</p><p>“Merlin.” A hand closed on his shoulder, and he was spun, almost falling down the last couple of stairs but pulled back by the strong grip.  “What was that about?”  Arthur was red-faced, panting from the run, and his eyes were sparkling with - worry?  “What’s wrong?”</p><p>“I don’t get it,” Merlin burst.  “I don’t get why it’s all about love.  No matter what it is I think I see, it’s always love.  I don’t know why!”</p><p>Arthur’s eyes widened, then lowered.  He bit his lip, a habit Merlin had never seen him do before and found adorable.  “I’m sorry.”</p><p>“Why?” Merlin screwed up his nose, “I’m the one reading it.  I’m the one that’s awful at Divination.”</p><p>“I think you’re good at Divination.  I think you’re too good at Divination.  And I think maybe you’re seeing all that because I’m a little bit in love with you.”</p><p>“You’re...what?  But I thought, I thought it was because of me!  It made you so sad when it was love-related!”</p><p>“I didn’t want you to guess. And then I thought maybe you were doing it on purpose.”</p><p>“You absolute idiot.” Arthur flinched slightly, and Merlin felt guilt shock through him.  “No, you’re perfect, we’re both just so stupid, I can’t believe we’ll have to say that we were brought together by tea leaves, who does that?”</p><p>Arthur blinked.  “What?”</p><p>“Clearly I’m a master at Divination,” Merlin grinned, “because I’m a little bit in love with you too.”</p><p>When they kissed, Arthur tasted like bitter tea and cherry pie.  But Merlin didn’t mind.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I actually did google tea leaf symbol meanings so all of these are correct (based on the websites I used)!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>